William Jenkins, left, and John Lombardi in January 2008. Jenkins has been serving as interim president since Lombardi was fired in April. He added the role of chancellor shortly afterward.Times-Picayune archive

Despite the zealousness of the board, some faculty members say they're concerned and disappointed by
how the vote was conducted.

"The process started quite some time ago," said Hank Danos, chairman of the Board of Supervisors. "Basically, the
board recognized LSU wasn't functioning at full capacity because of our
organizational structure. [There are] a lot of silos and a lot of independent entities. And
so this is an opportunity to bring those entities together and project for the future."

Currently, the LSU system comprises 10 different entities that each function fairly autonomously. Choosing to consolidate the roles of chancellor and president could be seen as the first step toward fusing the entire university system as the report says a key feature of a newly redesigned LSU would be to combine those roles.

Danos said the process began several months ago when the AGB
presented the board with a report assessing the university's current structure.
The board considered three possible scenarios for the future of the university
before deciding on one that envisioned the university as a single flagship
institution with multiple campuses. The new report suggests the university
realign itself so that all of LSU's campuses are integrated seamlessly.

Kevin Cope, chair of the faculty body for the LSU system and
president of the LSU Faculty Senate, said the faculty was given a copy of
the report in the middle of the Board of Supervisors meeting Friday and had almost
no opportunity to voice their opinions on the merging of the two positions.

"We've had some informal opportunities insofar as we've had
a couple of breakfasts," he said. "There needs to be faculty input in
proportion to the mission of the university. So, we have a research university
that's doing big things, there needs to be big faculty input."

Danos countered by saying there were plenty of opportunities
for faculty input when the consulting group putting together the restructuring
reports interviewed LSU members. "We've talked to many LSU constituents including faculty,
staff, alumni business leaders. In their first report for us, we had them
interview a lot of people, so we got that input," he said.

Richard Novak, senior vice president for programs and
research at the AGB, said the group interviewed more than 70 individuals and consulted
with six other flagship universities when compiling its report. The group concluded that not having all of LSU's talent working together culminated in a "loss
for Louisiana."

"By pulling those people together to solve the problems of
the state, there's not much that can't be solved," said Thomas Meredith, senior
fellow at the AGB.

Danos said the board wasn't looking to cut costs, faculty or
staff positions if it chooses to take the recommendations of the AGB and realign
the university. "What we know is if we hit the mark, we'll be more
efficient, and we'll be more competitive and our students will get a better
experience and better education. That's what we're looking for, the gains, rather
than the cost," he said.

The report also says the the goal for LSU and all of its campuses would be to receive one umbrella accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as opposed to single, programmatic accreditations across the campuses.

The realignments would also combine the curriculums, course numbering system and application process for all 10 entities. "The ultimate goal is a globally competitive, 21st century university and one with a much larger footprint," the report says.

Cope said having the fate of the university decided by a governing
board that is disproportionally male when the majority of the student body and
faculty are women is a serious concern. "They also have a demographic and gender problem here in
that you have 15 somewhat senior men deciding the fate of a system in
which far and away the majority of student credit hours are generated by female
teachers," he said.

Board members said students would be the overall winners
if the university decides to restructure. The board will reconvene Friday, Nov. 2,
to consider what action to take on the recommendations.